Off to Illinois State University

I was really hoping this summer would just drag on and we wouldn't have to face the reality of Caleb leaving for college. Unfortunately, however, summer did the exact opposite and just flew by! In June, Caleb was already registering for classes. In July, we went down for an overnight orientation. And by August, an entire corner of the family room was filled with his dorm room items. Even though it was an extremely hard goodbye, we know that Caleb is right where he needs to be. He has plenty of familiar friends down there, is living with his best friend, got incredible scholarships to attend, and is just a quick drive/train ride away. We are so excited to see what the next few years will be like for him!

Caleb and Micah loved having some other LWC friends with them at their orientation, but they also managed to make quite a few new friends!

I don't think he was super sad about leaving his siblings...

First day of college classes

Lake 2026

After last year's lake fiasco (our first house that we booked was a complete bust and we had to relocated two days later) we searched long and hard for a good spot to stay this year. We hit the jackpot and found an amazing house! There was plenty of space for everyone, the dock was amazing, the cove was fairly quiet, and we couldn't have asked for a better week in one of our most favorite places. It was an especially sweet trip because it was the last one with everyone together (minus Nyla, who had to work) before Caleb headed off to college. We truly cherished all of the time together...on the water, playing games, conversating around the table, and just relaxing with each other. What a perfect way to end summer!